Aura let a low growl escape and scampered back to us. No sooner had she sat at my feet than she yawned like she was ready to sleep.
“So.” Ender still stared at the dragon hesitantly. “How do we explain we went for a walk and came back with a dragon?”
“Maybe my dad—John,” I quickly corrected myself, “has an explanation. He seems to have a lot of secrets.”
“This dragon seems awfully fond of you,” Ender said as the dragon held my gaze and stretched his neck toward me.
“I’m not sure why.” A symphonic hum of magic lightly brushed along my skin. I stepped forward, reaching out a hand.
Suddenly, the hair on my arm stood on end and the dragon swirled around, growling. Aura jumped to all fours, hunched, and hissed toward the door. Dread struck my gut as I got a slight, awful whiff of burning skin.
“Get to the edge!” Ender shouted and we took off toward the opposite side of the door.
Movement caught my eye as vines wrapped around the ends of the parapet in front of us, and we froze. Someone’s hands grabbed the vines and pulled themself over the edge and ontothe roof. Miss Lee stepped away from the ledge, brushing off her casual blue pants and blouse like it was just an ordinary day and she wasn’t a fugitive of the mage council.
“That proved to be quite difficult in my old age.” Miss Lee’s gaze fell on the dragon. “That’s peculiar.”
The dragon looked back, growling at her, but he must have decided whatever was behind that door was more of a threat because he turned his attention back toward it.
“What are you doing here?” Ender cautiously angled himself between Miss Lee and me, somehow keeping his eyes on the door too. As much as I wanted to wrap my own vines around her neck to see how she liked it, I needed my attention on the door.
“Making sure you stay safe,” she said. “I see you decided to come home.”
“This isn’t my home.” There was some pain behind Ender’s voice.
“Well, in the Far East. Much closer to the Philippines.” She took a step closer. “Did you figure out what you are to each other?”
There was a brief pause.
Ender glanced at me but looked away when the door to the roof swung open and a dark mage stepped through wearing a burgundy cloak.
The little dragon jumped, taking to the air as he spewed fire toward the intruder. A scream came from the dark mage as they pulled the cloak farther over them. Once the flames died, the dark mage lowered their cloak, undamaged.
Okay. So this mage had a fire-resistant cloak.Great.
The movement of their cloak revealed a shadowy face with wide eyes fixated on the dragon. The dark mage’s skin looked pale and crinkled, but nothing compared to the one who had attacked the academy.
The dark mage gained his composure and shot fire, the flames outlined with dark shadows, toward the dragon. The rooftop became ten degrees warmer, but the dragon merely shielded himself with his wing. Once the fire dissipated, the dragon shook his head, his obsidian scales shifting on his neck as he let out a low roar of annoyance.
“I’ve never seen fire—that level of fire—barely leave something untouched.” Ender stared at the dragon in wonder.
“One of the many reasons dark mages fear dragons,” Miss Lee said, still eyeing the dark mage whose narrowed gaze shifted between the dragon and us. “Even the little ones.”
“You brought a dark mage here.” I took a step back, keeping Miss Lee in my peripheral.
“No.” Miss Lee shook her head. “I merely followed them here. I would never harm my grandson.”
Ender cracked his neck and released an annoyed breath as he prepared to fight. A foreign anger touched with resentment filled my chest. I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to bring that emotion forward to examine it. Now wasn’t the time.
“Them?” I asked. “Is there more than this one?”
“Inside.” Miss Lee nodded.
My stomach dropped. My dad was inside.
I charged toward the dark mage.
“Selene!” Ender shouted, but I tuned him out.
